Remember When
by drawyoursword1
Summary: Antonio and Kotetsu are at the HERO bar for Happy Hour. They start reminiscing about their Service days as NEXT Forces. Barnaby Fluff and Sad at the end! Wrote this for Vet's day. Enjoi!


Remember When

DO NOT OWN TIGER AND BUNNY OR JACK SPARROW OR ANY SIDE METEPHORS HEREIN.

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PREPARE THE TISSUES

-Draw

"Man did we get whooped back in our guard days-"laughed a drunk Kotetsu, reminding the larger hero next to him of his sleeping habits during their time in Korea.

"Guard? Since when did you guard anything but the food?" Antonio shot back quickly, in a good mood himself.

"But AN-y-ways, I tell ya Toni, I would do it over again every time if it meant finding a friend like youuuuuu."

Peachy. Just great. Kotetsu was outwardly affectionate when drunk but became defensive or protective in a split second. Aaaaand now he was getting cozy. Toni would have to settle this without delay. For manhood's sake!

"Speak for yourself. Because well, yeah, screw that."

"Really? I'd do it over"

"Depends on the unit."

"It's all Corps."

"Not what the Grunts say."

"The Grunts don't say a lot."

"Cause they're too busy gettin' the job done."

"Oh they get some kind of job done."

Antonio responded by boring holes into the side of his old friend's face with his glare. Apparently he took his own interpretation of what Kotetsu meant.

"Who's the macho one here anyway? Complaining about their service?"

"It's one of my many ways to pick a good fight."

"Messed…*urph*…up, broseph" said the capped hero, knocking back a small shot.

"Broseph? Did you drink Jack or an Appletini earlier?"

"HEY!" said Tiger seriously before lapsing into a very Jack Sparrow expression, "it was actually for the taste that time."

"Infantry too tough to handle for your scrawny getup?"

"For those who have a handle, yes." Toni squinted, not sure what to make of that.

"Or, a lady?"

"…yeah. Now that's an old day's conversation that I want to have."

"Well, don't have it with me."

"And why not?"

"Because she'd have slapped me for letting you have that Appletini in public."

There was a momentary scuffle and dying laughter among the two of them, getting low like the ice in their drinks.

"Hey, Tiger?"

"Mnh?"

"Would you have picked Donni as a friend over me if all that hadn't-you know?"

Tiger was silent. One thing he didn't count on was that Antonio would bring up, or remember…that day. Tiger's mood seemed to shift like a gearbox when he drank.

"Definitely not. I'd be rich and miserable. Don was too good at managing money. Managing everything, including me sometimes. He was too god at everything really. Even his hair was perfect, you should have seen the girls fawn over him-he'd never catch a break. Never." Kotetsu leaned into his glass.

"He didn't watch what he ate, almost didn't make regs but he was so muscular and they'd overlook it every time. If there was a rule ever written, he knew it. He was a little too obsessed with ranking up. Just like all those guys were. It was all they talked about, nothing else. Damn I'm glad I got out of that nonsense. I'm the one who taught him to see past the dangling carrot-"

"Sorry did you really just?-"

"Ya! Uhhuh I did! Pun intended! Don't pretend like you didn't either! Where was I? Oh yeah-He-"

Kotetsu's eyes went wide suddenly in the mirror behind the bartender in front of him. The glass in his hand lowered automatically of its own accord. As though he hadn't taken one single drink that night. His expression changed from 'out of it' to solemn. Antonio was confused momentarily. Until he looked straight ahead of him along with Kotetsu. A certain younger blonde with stylishly curled hair was busy wordlessly scanning the crowd, for Kotetsu's hat no doubt. Both heroes could see Barnaby in the mirror behind the bartender. Bison took a sip of his drink.

"He deserved more time, he deserved to live a normal life, after the service he gave. I only hope he didn't-suffer too much when-and-" the black and white cap next to Antonio turned down again "that he's happy wherever he is-I…" Kotetsu stumbled. Barnaby walked closer. " I guess it just made me antsy, him moving on-without me." Kotetsu ended weakly. Bison took another sip of his drink."

"There you are old man. Enough of the worldly pleasures yet? You usually lecture me on this sort of thing."

"You got me pal! Such a good partner, looking after this old buzzard…" Kotetsu trailed of breezily, nearly falling off the barstool; his partner of course, caught him by the shoulders. Kotetsu stared into the green of Barnaby's eyes as though they were the last thing he would ever see.

"Whoa! Kotetsu…how much did you have to drink?" Barnaby asked, scowling over his partner's shoulder at Bison. Antonio supplied him a guilty grin.

"Kotetu?" Without preamble, Kotetsu started to trip over his own feet away from Barnaby and out of the bar-top area.

"He seems..down…"

"Hunh?" said Bison, not entirely focused but still mulling over Kotetsu's words.

"He talks all the time about how clearly he can read me, but it's not like I can't tell when he's putting on an act, too" says Barnaby

Antonio was silent.

"What were you two talking about, anyway?"

"…I was feeling sentimental but I got careless and brought up Donnie."

"_The_ Donni? The one who was Kotetsu's best friend when they served together secretly in the NEXT Forces? Before he was a Hero? Kotetsu always avoids my questions about him…he's even told me about Tomoe. But never Donni. What happened to him anyway?"

"What do you think happened kid?" Antonio growled.

Barnaby bristled in irritation. How could he not? He had never tried to stand between Toni and Kotetsu's relationship. He and Tiger barely had a relationship if you could call it that!

"He's my partner and I'm worried about him so I want to know the deal, okay?" said Barnaby, his voice on edge.

"Imagine the most likely thing that happened to him, Barnaby. Kotetsu doesn't go to reunions or parties or take promotions or favors or anything from his service days."

"But then, what-"

"Imagine that," steamrolled Antonio in a brusque but patient manner," take a guess what might have happened, and then really think about what he said to you when you first brought him up."

Barnaby's eyes widened.

*FLASHBACK*

Barnaby was visiting for dinner at Kotetsu's apartment. The latter had taken out a beaten old photograph book (they still made those?) so he could gush about Kaede over dinner.

"Kotetsu who's this?" asked Barnaby curiously. His too-clean fingernail indicated a younger, clean cut, clean shaven Kotetsu with an arm slung around a blond with similar cropped hair. Both men were armed and appeared to be in some jungle-esque place. The man and Kotetsu looked as carefree as he and Kotetsu did in their photos now, despite what surrounded them. The blonde, of course, looked the more serious of the two.

Kotetsu took the entire album from Barnaby's lap unceremoniously, like an automaton. Barnaby blinked, surprised. Holding back his retort he watched Kotetsu run a few fingers over the worn photo. He had never seen Kotetsu so focused or contemplative before.

"Kotetsu?"

There was another long, pregnant pause.

"This i-was…Donatello Rinza" Kotetsu looked at him directly. Barnaby could see the story in his eyes. "Donni"

Kotetsu handed him the album carefully without looking at him and turned back around toward the kitchen. Then he paused in the doorway:

"You look just like him, you know?"

*FLASHBACK END*

Barnaby audibly gasped, looked at Antonio and then ran out of the bar to find his partner. The old man was thankfully not too far down the street.

"Kotetsu!" yelled Barnaby, running straight for him only to stop a few feet in front of him while his partner turned around slowly, confused.

Back at the bar, Rock Bison was finishing his last round. No good alcohol left un-guzzled.

He stared into his remaining glass.

"Ahh Donni, very funny. You found a better one than me again. You were always the better one at managing these sort of things. Nice pick. But it's still cheating if I help your boy along. I win again. You're lucky I'm such a softie nowdays."

Antonio raised his glass and drained it carefully.

Clink.

~~~T&B~~~

Epilogue

"Thank you for being patient young man" crooned the old librarian. "Here are the files you requested. Let me know if you need something else, hmmmm?"

"Of course, ma'am." Barnaby answered smoothly. "This will definitely clear things up."

Barnaby looks down at the leather bound tome, the events inside it declassified because it happened so long ago. He turned the page and read out loud softly:

"Donatello H. Rinza, acting Sergeant of 5th Platoon, 2nd Squad, Special NEXT Forces Division. Awarded the Iron Valor Key decoration post-"Barnaby paused and swallowed thickly, his glasses fogging up of their own accord,

"…posthumously…for ensuring the final accomplishment of Mission: XC-NEXT 0091. Sgt Rinza facilitated the seize and capture of no less than 206 unconventional NEXT hostiles as part of 18 raids. As his last contribution to the Special NEXT Forces Division, Sgt Rinza led a raid clearing aquried territory of improvised explosive devices.

Sgt Rinza died of gunfire wounds, shielding fellow operative Sgt Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, who lived despite equally serious injuries. Sgt Rinza ordered fellow operative Sgt Kaburagi to return fire rather than receive treatment for his own injuries.

The enemy squad of eight individuals was subsequently terminated. Sgt Rinza died in transit to medical care. Sgt Rinza's actions reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the entire Division of Clandestine NEXT Services. Given under my hand, General Officer of Staff…

Andreas Gerardo _Lopez_, Special NEXT Forces Division, Commanding."


End file.
